Downers Grove Man Brings 'Calvin and Hobbes' to Life in Short Film

A Downers Grove man has taken his love of "Calvin and Hobbes" to the big screen.

Taylor Jacobs, an aspiring film and television producer, recently completed "Reaching Autumn," a live-action short film inspired by Bill Watterson's classic comic strip.

The original comic is centered on Calvin, a precocious and highly imaginative 6-year-old who spends much of his time with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Although Hobbes is seen as an inanimate toy by all other characters, to Calvin, he's a real-life friend and partner in crime.

"I think Calvin and Hobbes was just something a lot of people could relate to," Jacobs said in an interview last year. "It's entertaining, but there's always a deeper message about life and relationships."

Jacobs, a Northern Illinois University alum, still enjoys reading the comic as an adult. Like many life-long fans, he has often wondered what it would be like if Calvin and Hobbes were to grow up.

"I always knew Calvin as a young kid who had this really strong bond with his stuffed animal, but what if he was my age?" Jacobs said. "What if he was 24, just out of college and had maybe lost touch with some of the people from his childhood?" 

Those questions were the inspiration for "Reaching Autumn," which explores what would happen if 24-year-old Calvin reunited with Susie Derkins, one of his former neighbors and classmates, after both went to college and became adults.

"For fans of Calvin and Hobbes, like myself, the film is about these characters we know and love, and paying homage to everything Bill Watterson created," Jacobs said. "It was fun to put Calvin and Susie in my shoes as a young adult, and imagine what they would be like and what they would be doing."

Jacobs co-wrote the film and starred as Calvin. It was co-written and directed by fellow NIU alum Nate Mack, who—along with friends Tom and Brian Conlon—runs the movie's production company, A Really Good One Productions.

Since being uploaded to YouTube in March, "Reaching Autumn" has reached more than 22,000 views. In May it was named an official selection by the Indie Incubator Film Festival in Chicago.

Jacobs said the film is everything he hoped it would be.

"The experience was amazing, and the final product far exceeded my expectations," he said. "So far the feedback has been incredible. We're planning to enter it in a few more festivals and hopefully reach more fans of 'Calvin and Hobbes.'"

At its heart, "Reaching Autumn" is a love story, Jacobs said.

"It's about life and relationships and the influence people have on our lives, sometimes without us even realizing it," he said. "You don't have to be a fan of the comic to relate to those things."

READ: Downers Grove Man's Love of 'Calvin and Hobbes' Inspires Live-Action Short Film